


heinz

by maddy_does (favefangirl)



Series: Aaron Dingle Week 2020 [2]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Canon Compliant, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Husbands, M/M, Sickfic, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, aaron is thirsty, but who wouldn't be, fluffl, i guess, or c2019, robron - Freeform, set c2018, the mortifying ordeal of being known maybe isn't so bad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:02:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26668660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/favefangirl/pseuds/maddy_does
Summary: a bit of a sniffle and date night's cancelled. aaron's convinced that the world is ending... until it isn't.
Relationships: Aaron Dingle/Robert Sugden
Series: Aaron Dingle Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1940446
Comments: 8
Kudos: 57





	heinz

**Author's Note:**

> [Aaron Dingle Week 2020](https://aarondingleweek2020.tumblr.com/) Day 2 (13th Oct): “I’m not drunk. I s-swear.” and/or “I don’t have enough middle fingers to let you know how I feel.”
> 
> Big up @lizzzzoo @howellobrien and @like-the-first-time-i-kissed-you on tumblr for running this :)

It was supposed to be date night. And, yeah, alright, maybe that just meant a curry at the Woolie with Chas breathing down their necks, and Vic poking her nose in about Seb and work and the summer holidays, but it was date night nonetheless. Plus, it was the first date night in too long where Seb was with Rebecca, and Liv was out at a mates. Maybe the curry would’ve been mediocre and the company even worse, but an empty house at the end of it didn’t sound too bad to Aaron.

It was supposed to be date night, except now he’s laying on the sofa all but drowning in blankets he didn’t even know they owned, as Robert makes him soup and a cup of tea. It’s a cold, honestly, not even remotely serious enough to cancel the whole thing over, but Robert’s nothing if not a mollycoddling mother hen. It's seems he's never happier than when he's found a reason to start fussing over Aaron.

Aaron had woken up feeling rough that morning, headache, sore throat, a bit hot. He’d figured that some fresh air at work and a warm shower would have him back to normal, right as rain. He’d been wrong. Instead he’d spent the day coughing and spluttering into invoices as Jimmy tried to surreptitiously cover his mouth and nose. He’d been generous enough to nudge a box of tissues Aaron’s way with the rubber end of a pencil, which he’d quickly retracted as soon as the tissues were within reach. He _was_ also polite enough to look away every time Aaron glared at him between coughing fits.

By the time Aaron got home he’d felt terrible. But then Robert had come downstairs looking gorgeous in a soft blue jumper and Aaron’s favourite jeans, and with the notable absence of toys on the floor - G-d, was that _really_ what their carpet looked like? - even the cold wasn’t going to stop Aaron enjoying date night. His husband, however, evidently was.

“You’re sick, Aaron. You need rest!”

“I’m fine!” And if perhaps Aaron’s protests had been promptly followed by a coughing fit, and a particularly snotty inhale through his nose, well why should that matter, really.

“No, come on, get in the shower then you can get laid down. The Woolie’ll still be there next week.”

Except, with their luck, next week was just as like to be next month, and even though Aaron wasn't about to complain about their quickies (at work, before work, Woollie toilets after work, even one time at the back of the Church, which had been mortifying when Harriet had nearly caught them) the prospect of an empty house was incredibly tempting, and even more finite.

“Robert, I. Am. Fine!” Maybe his head was throbbing, but that was nothing a paracetamol or two wouldn’t solve. And a fisherman’s friend would sort his blocked nose right out. As for the coughing, he felt like it was getting better every minute! There was no need to miss out, not for a bit of a sniffle.

Aaron didn’t even attempt to hide the eye roll when Robert strode forwards and placed the back of his hand on Aaron’s forehead. He frowned almost immediately. “Aaron, you’re burning up!”

“I’ve just come in from outside. It’s freezing. I’ll be fine after a shower.”

Except the frown didn’t relent, and he was all but frog marched up the stairs for a shower. Truth be told, if anything, it only made him feel worse. He’d not had an appetite all day, and what with the heat from the water and the fact that his head was already a little foggy, he nearly stumbled on his way to grab a towel once he’d finished.

Strong arms caught him from seemingly nowhere just in time. “Come on,” Robert said, gently guiding him to the towel rail.

He dried off quickly and didn’t protest when Robert handed him a pair of pyjamas, but only because he thought it might help him swing an evening spent horizontal, even if they didn’t make it to the Woolie. He also tried not to mourn too much that his husband was getting him dressed, when their plans for the evening were meant to involve getting each other's clothes _off_. He was then led downstairs where Robert had spread blankets out on the sofa. He guided Aaron to it, then wrapped him tightly up in them, the way he used to for Seb when he was a baby,

“‘Not- invalid…” Aaron mumbled, stretching out beneath the blankets. He’s not ashamed to admit he was pouting.

Then Robert had disappeared to make tea and soup from the sounds of the kettle flicking on and the can opener. Aaron hated soup. He’d only eat tomato, and even then only if there were bits of bread chopped up inside it. He grumbled under his breath about empty houses and all the possibilities as Robert pottered around in the kitchen.

“How are you feeling?” Robert asked a few minutes later, placing a cup of tea on the coffee table and then sitting down gently next to it.

 **“I don’t have enough middle fingers to let you know how I feel,”** Aaron replied, wrestling himself from the blankets enough to sit up and reach for the tea. He took a sip and pulled a face.

“Ginger. ‘S good for you,” Robert explained, nodding at the cup. “Don’t be a prat and drink it,” He added with a press of a kiss to Aaron’s forehead, before disappearing back into the kitchen.

Aaron pulled another face but did as he was told. A pathetic night on the sofa or no, he might still be able to get Robert to bed by the end of it if he was a good boy and did as he was told. The thought was momentarily broken by another coughing fit, and he had to put the cup down to stop from spilling the tea. His lungs and ribs were starting to ache by now, and he thought briefly that maybe a night in was a good idea, before quickly squashing it.

Robert was by his side almost instantly, a comforting hand rubbing circles into his back, and murmuring of how it was okay, alright, let it out. He was gentle in cupping Aaron’s face once it was done, tilting it up to look him in the eye.

“Okay?” he asked, softly.

Aaron nodded, and once more reached for the tea. Robert watched him for a minute before once again returning to the kitchen. There was some clanging coming not too long later, but Aaron opted to ignore it as he laid back on the sofa, arm pressed over his eyes to block out the light in hopes of soothing his aching head. It was almost enough of a distraction from the evening he could’ve been spending with his husband.

Speaking of - he felt Robert nudge him gently, and when he lifted the arm from his face, Robert was stood holding a bowl in a tea towel. With a groan Aaron shifted himself up into a seated position, and once he was settled, Robert carefully placed the bowl in his lap. It was soup. Tomato, with bits of bread floating around in it. Aaron’s mouth fell open and he looked up, but Robert was already scooting around the coffee table to the TV stand, grabbing a DVD from the pile and putting it in the player. Aaron tried a spoonful of the soup, and it was even Heinz, the only brand he could stomach. He had no idea when Robert had sourced it.

Once Robert had finished playing with the TV, he sat down next to Aaron on the sofa, leaning into him a little. Robert’s weight by his side was perhaps more comforting than the food, tea and blankets combined. When the film’s title sequence started playing, Aaron couldn’t help but smile - Rocky 3, his favourite.

A little later once the soup had been eaten, the tea drunk, the film reaching its climax, Aaron having slipped down so he was all but laying on Robert, he said, “I’m sorry about date night.”

“Don’t be daft,” Robert scoffed, with a kiss to his hair. “I think this is better anyway.”

“I’m ill, Robert,”

“Well, maybe not that part.”

Aaron huffed a laugh. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

“In sickness and in health, remember,” Robert replied, thumb stroking over the gold band on Aaron’s finger, before bringing the hand up to his lips to press a gentle kiss against it. Aaron swallowed against a lump in his throat.

“I know, but with everything. Like the soup, my favourite film-”

“You’re my husband, Aaron. I know what you need when you're ill. I know you.”

And, yeah, he did. Maybe, just maybe, that was better than any date night.

And if Robert came down with something similar a few days later, well, then that was Aaron’s opportunity to show that he knew him right back.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading folks :)
> 
> this was the first of the week that i wrote because i was (am) ill (possibly corona, as of yet haven't been able to find a test centre, so thanks boris, i guess) and i've just drafted them all so i can just click post on the day. it's a bit mad that by the time this is up i'll have started uni and be a year older??? absolute madness. i wonder what future maddy's like?
> 
> anyway, if you wanna leave a comment or a kudos they're much appreciated! especially let me know if there's something you think i forgot to tag! this was (is) the first time i've really written for this ship and with some of the _incredible_ talent this fandom has, feedback is very much welcomed!
> 
> i'm taking prompts! if you're interested please drop the prompt in the comments below. if you do send a prompt be prepared for me to take fifty years to fill it because school is so hard (or, i guess, uni now, lol), but i promise i'll try! come say hi on tumblr: [@maddy-does](https://maddy-does.tumblr.com/)
> 
> thanks again for reading, have a wonderful existence.


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